The Story of SST
We built the firm we wanted to work for.
Everyone’s career starts somewhere. Over time, a variety of factors color your vision of the ideal workplace. Those of us who started Sinars Slowikowski Tomaska saw an opportunity to build a people-centric, flexible and intentionally different law firm. An employer of choice with opportunity for growth, collaboration, and transparency. In a fast-paced modern environment, the old rules of our grandfather’s traditional law firm no longer applied. So, we built the firm we wanted to work for. Today’s SST has grown in size, expanded geographically, and evolved to better serve the expectations of our clients and our employees.
This is SST. Expect more.
Brand Evolution
Over the past decade, SST has built a uniquely collaborative and collegial work environment in which lawyers do meaningful work, gain valuable experience, and are promoted based on their performance, not their tenure.
This approach has fostered long-lasting relationships and is one of many reasons SST partners who began their careers here, like Megan Slowikowski, Owen Blood, and John-Michael Porretta remain today. Similarly, several attorneys who left SST at one point have since returned to the firm to resume their careers here.
SST History
After graduating from law school, Doug Sinars worked for Haskell & Perrin until 1997, when he, Ed Matushek, and David Nilles left to open Matushek, Nilles and Sinars.
Though they separated amicably in 2016, when SST was founded, David rejoined Doug in 2021.
Growth + Expansion
We founded SST in the Midwest, where many of us were born and raised or educated. More than just a geographic home, the pace of life, work ethic and values found in cities like Chicago and St. Louis reflects our own make up as individuals and as a team.
The firm has grown in size and geographically, to include office locations in Edwardsville, IL (2017), St. Louis, MO (2018), Dallas, TX (2018), and Seattle, WA (2022). Each stage of growth has allowed SST to add highly experienced attorneys and to expand our legal services. The additional resources and national reach allows SST to continue offering the personalized service and adaptability that clients have come to expect.
Our vision has never been to become a nationwide firm with 50 offices and thousands of employees. But, we do plan to grow intentionally where it makes sense to do so.
Notable Cases
While we concentrate our practice in the Central United States and Pacific Northwest, our attorneys have tried cases across the country and assist clients on their national trial teams. We have argued cases before the Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa Supreme Courts. Our attorneys have helped shape toxic tort litigation in the jurisdictions in which we practice, including cutting edge issues such as genetics and genomics.
SST Leadership
SST is continually focused on operational excellence. To that end, we are led by an Executive Committee consisting of all three founding partners as well as the committee chairs for Billing, Associate Professional Development, and Recruiting as well as Retention.